The American foursquare — a house
type named for its characteristic
boxy shape and four-room floor plan —
was hugely popular from around 1900
into the early 1920s. Planbooks from
that era, like those of Sears, Radford’s,
and Aladdin, published page after page
of variations on the theme to suit every
budget. Although foursquares were built
across the country, the compact design
was especially popular on tight urban
lots, often with a single-stall garage off
an adjacent alley.
The basic design is straightforward,
but two key elements add visual interest:
First, the foursquare has an appealing
purity of form. It’s assembled from
cubes, rectangles, and triangles, giving
it the clarity of a child’s drawing, accentuated
by punched windows on